why is money such a hangup?

Discussion in 'Hippies' started by oshinn, Apr 18, 2010.

  1. oshinn

    oshinn Member

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    i've been really working hard lately to help resolve the issues that are dragging me down and i've come to realize one of the biggest ones is money. i know it is for most people. it really bugs me, because i've been poor all my life and i'm used to living with little, you know, buying stuff on a budget, recycling everything, etc. and yet money is still such a huge hangup.

    it's like the one thing that dirties my positive energy sometimes. and it's really a drag. i'm lucky enough that right now i can make a little money doing what i like (making hats, bags, taking photos, etc.) and i recognise that. i just get so bummed out by money all the time though.

    so how do you not get hung up on it?
     
  2. aidanspops85

    aidanspops85 Member

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    be happy with happy with what u have its hard sometimes i know... but some of the richest people are the unhappiest and thats the truth... and some the happiest are the poorest
     
  3. psychedelicg1rl

    psychedelicg1rl Member

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    I dont know it is hard, I have always struggled with the little money I make, and I always get by, but it is stressful, and sometimes I really wish the world didnt revolve around money.
    Bc then half my issues woudl go away. I try to not let it drag me down, and just enjoy the little things in life, and hope one day this money system will get better.
     
  4. Willy_Wonka_27

    Willy_Wonka_27 Surrender to the Flow

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    I'm in a pretty good debt, so I get down about money occasionally. The best way I deal with money issues is to face them head on. If I'm not making enough money, I work more. If I cant afford something, I dont buy it. If I think about taking another loan I slap myself in the face. My goal is to get out of debt, but I'm not worried about it because I know I'm living realistically. I'm comfortable, safe, healthy, and happy. If I'm in debt right now its ok.
     
  5. ItsAndrewBet

    ItsAndrewBet Member

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    Want to be rich? make your wantings little. Worked for me, I'm super rich!
     
  6. granny_longhair

    granny_longhair Member

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    You sound like a very self-aware young lady and so you've got that working in your favor. It looks to me like you have two separate issues here ... your objective financial situation, and your subjective feelings and attitudes about it.

    The reason money is a problem for people is because they live beyond their means, with credit cards and all that. If you don't do that, then you're very much ahead of the game.

    You're already used to living with less and you do what you enjoy, so you're going in the right direction, but you also want to make sure you're covered financially for emergencies. What if you get sick? What if your car blows up?

    As for being hung up about money, I think you've answered your own question. You attitude is up to you. You can train it. If the reason you're hung up about it is because you want more money to buy unnecessary things, that's one thing. But if you're stressed because you have trouble paying the rent or buying groceries, that's quite another. In that case, you're a paycheck away from disaster and you need to do something.

    But assuming you have enough money for your basic living expenses, then the only ways you can improve your situation are to either earn more or want less.

    Good luck :)
     
  7. wild-flowers

    wild-flowers forever arbitrary

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    I hope you dont feel crappy all week, and if it helps alot i'm poor as fuck (will have to dig up money for the tam even bahahaha) but uhm. Money isn't important.But I think what is really important here. Is how you let other people and other things effect you. Don't let something like this sway your smile.
     
  8. oshinn

    oshinn Member

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    it's easy for me to ignore money- it's just strange- i seem to trip over it all the time (money problems that is, not money itself!) i'm in a situation right now where all i need to spend money on is food and incidentals, and the incidentals are always strange.

    it would be so nice to get to a place where i didn't need money at all- but that place is far away and only accessible by ethereal stepladder i think.
     
  9. The Imaginary Being

    The Imaginary Being PAIN IN ASS Lifetime Supporter

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    *shrugs* I guess i'm lucky, I have not got this sort of problem right now.

    Not from the richest of families or areas, but I guess I just don't spend over my means. The only thing that would push me under is my student loan had I not moved back home, so here I am.

    So once I finish my degree and am back out of the house there's a good chance I will be broke once again.
     
  10. Shale

    Shale ~

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    "There are two ways to have enough. One is accumulate more; the other is to desire less." G.K. Chesterton

    "How you gonna catch up if you can't keep up" John Schwegman, New Orleans grocery store owner (according to my dad - who worked for him and asked for a front).

    I have found by living frugally (below my means) I have always had enuf to get by and even save enuf now and then (trips to Centro America and India). That was in the '70s making minimum wages.

    Now I am making more than minimum and recently took about a $6K a year cut in order to work only 4 days a week. It is worth it having 3-day weekends every week.

    But, I never pursued self-employment doing my art or writing for a living. Well, in San Francisco I dealt a couple of kilos but we mainly just broke even and has some smoke.

    OK, maybe I sold out - been working for the man all these years making a steady income, which allows plans for saving or other expenses.

    Altho I have tried right livlihood, working in human services which is known not to make you rich. But I have always managed to manage my money so that I did not live hand to mouth and could leave for months at a time (give up your apartment so that cuts out those expenses while on the road).
     
  11. scratcho

    scratcho Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Well,money was the means by which uneven bartering (when bartering was common)could take place when one person didn't have enough to barter equally with another. The "money"given could be gems,animals,land,weapons or even people or other article/s of value from the one that was short on the deal and this "money" was/is supposed to represent labor expended on making,acquiring, or growing and was meant to work out as an equal or close to equal trade. This would be the basis for fair trade deals between people. Here we are hundreds and hundreds of years later and we can see how unequal so-called trades have become from the original purpose ,when some make millions/billions ,some work for pittances ,some for "decent" wages,and others die of starvation because they were born in the wrong place ,wrong time ,wrong circumstances. It always fascinates me to see how civilization has progressed to the point where it's OK to make huge amounts of labor credits (money)without expending much,if any labor. And it seems to be alright with the "labor credit" rich (who have the power to make changes if they so desired),to keep life on the earth just the way it is.
     
  12. scratcho

    scratcho Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    As others said--live cheaply and simply and I would add--don't covet. Makes for useless thoughts.
     
  13. Monkey Boy

    Monkey Boy Senior Member

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    I can get bummed by money sometimes and it's usually caused by worrying about not being able to pay expenses. I've been self-employed for 11 years doing what I like, but it's not a steady income so I have to trust that orders will continue to come in. What's always helped me in the past is everytime I start worrying about not having enough I focus that energy instead on immersing myself in work and I gain peace of mind while solving the money issues at the same time.
     
  14. FritzDaKatx2

    FritzDaKatx2 Vinegar Taster

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    My two bit's, the real trick is in not letting your desires for possessing things beyond your bare essentials for survival define your identity.

    When I get in rut's over it occasionally it's usually because I don't have cash to buy some tool I'd like to simplify a project I'd like to work on and it eats away at me until I realize I don't need that tool and if I stop hanging myself up over it and recall that many cultures utilized all sorts of methods other than whatever tool I wanted at the time to do something I'll get through the project after researching and copying their methods and possibly make a little money to get the tool I wanted, but I've been getting better at being versatile in my needs.

    Maybe you could think of some simple ways to increase your productivity in hat and bag making somehow without becoming a slave to it or making it a chore? Or just put a bit more effort into marketing?

    I mean, I guess I'm just saying that theres nothing wrong with a desire for acquisition of things provided you can learn to desire without letting it own you?
     
  15. I_Human

    I_Human Member

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    I've come to grips with the fact that I'm going to be poor the rest of my life, and I couldn't be happier.

    Who knows, maybe that'll change when I get older...we'll see.
     

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